1 A lamentation for the princes of Israel, under the parable of lions’ whelps taken in a pit, 10 and for Jerusalem, under the parable of a wasted vine.
Eze 19:1 “Moreover take up a lamentation for the princes of Israel,
Eze 19:2 and say: ‘What is your mother? A lioness: She lay down among the lions; Among the young lions she nourished her cubs.
Eze 19:3 She brought up one of her cubs, And he became a young lion; He learned to catch prey, And he devoured men.
Eze 19:4 The nations also heard of him; He was trapped in their pit, And they brought him with chains to the land of Egypt.
Eze 19:5 ‘When she saw that she waited, that her hope was lost, She took another of her cubs and made him a young lion.
Eze 19:6 He roved among the lions, And became a young lion; He learned to catch prey; He devoured men.
Eze 19:7 He knew their desolate places, And laid waste their cities; The land with its fullness was desolated By the noise of his roaring.
Eze 19:8 Then the nations set against him from the provinces on every side, And spread their net over him; He was trapped in their pit.
Eze 19:9 They put him in a cage with chains, And brought him to the king of Babylon; They brought him in nets, That his voice should no longer be heard on the mountains of Israel.
Eze 19:10 ‘Your mother was like a vine in your bloodline, Planted by the waters, Fruitful and full of branches Because of many waters.
Eze 19:11 She had strong branches for scepters of rulers. She towered in stature above the thick branches, And was seen in her height amid the dense foliage.
Eze 19:12 But she was plucked up in fury, She was cast down to the ground, And the east wind dried her fruit. Her strong branches were broken and withered; The fire consumed them.
Eze 19:13 And now she is planted in the wilderness, In a dry and thirsty land.
Eze 19:14 Fire has come out from a rod of her branches And devoured her fruit, So that she has no strong branch—a scepter for ruling.’ ” This is a lamentation, and has become a lamentation.
Eze 19:1 “Moreover take up a lamentation for the princes of Israel,
1. Lamentation. Heb. qinah, “a song of mourning,” “a dirge,” or “an elegy” (see Vol. III, p. 19).Princes. Jehoahaz and Jehoiachin (see on vs. 3, 5). The LXX reads “prince,” in harmony with the singular “thy” (v. 2).
Eze 19:2 and say: ‘What is your mother? A lioness: She lay down among the lions; Among the young lions she nourished her cubs.
Mother stands for Jerusalem (see Gal. 4:26), or perhaps here for the whole national community. On the figure of the lion see Gen. 49:9; Num. 23:24; 24:9. Israel, personified as a lioness, lay down among the lions, that is, the other kingdoms of the world, the Gentile nations. She took her place in the family of nations.
Eze 19:3 She brought up one of her cubs, And he became a young lion; He learned to catch prey, And he devoured men.
3. One of her whelps. Jehoahaz, the son of Josiah, also known as Shallum (1 Chron. 3:15; Jer. 22:11; see on 2 Kings 23:30, 32), who was taken captive to Egypt (see v. 4).
It devoured men. Jehoahaz turned his back on the reforms of his father, Josiah (2 Kings 23:1–25), and did evil in the sight of the Lord (2 Kings 23:32). On the figure of devouring men see (Eze. 22:25, 27.
Eze 19:4 The nations also heard of him; He was trapped in their pit, And they brought him with chains to the land of Egypt.
4. Heard. A change of the Hebrew verb form permits the translation “sounded an alarm” (RSV).
Chains. Heb. chachim, “thorns,” or “hooks,” such as were placed in the nostrils of captives or animals. To these, ropes were attached for the purpose of leading the victims (see 2 Kings 19:28; Isa. 37:29; Eze. 38:4).
Of Egypt. See 2 Kings 23:33, 34; 2 Chron. 36:4.
Eze 19:5 ‘When she saw that she waited, that her hope was lost, She took another of her cubs and made him a young lion.
5. Another of her whelps. Identified by the details of v. 9 as Jehoiachin. The intervening reign of Jehoiakim 2 Kings 23:34 to 24:6) is passed by without notice.
Eze 19:6 He roved among the lions, And became a young lion; He learned to catch prey; He devoured men.
Eze 19:7 He knew their desolate places, And laid waste their cities; The land with its fullness was desolated By the noise of his roaring
6. Devoured men. See on v. 3.
7. Desolate palaces. Heb. ’almenoth, literally, “widows.” If the literal meaning is here intended, it would refer to the injury of widows, whom the king should have protected. The Targums and Theodotion’s Greek version render the word as from ’armenoth, “fortresses.”
Eze 19:8 Then the nations set against him from the provinces on every side, And spread their net over him; He was trapped in their pit.
Eze 19:9 They put him in a cage with chains, And brought him to the king of Babylon; They brought him in nets, That his voice should no longer be heard on the mountains of Israel.
9. To the king of Babylon. Jehioachin had reigned about three months when Jerusalem was conquered by Nebuchadnezzar and the king carried as a captive to Babylon and put in prison (2 Kings 24:8–17). He was there at the time of this prophecy. Some years later he was released (2 Kings 25:27–30).
Eze 19:10 ‘Your mother was like a vine in your bloodline, Planted by the waters, Fruitful and full of branches Because of many waters.
10. A vine. A new allegory is introduced, in which Israel is compared to a thriving vine.
Eze 19:11 She had strong branches for scepters of rulers. She towered in stature above the thick branches, And was seen in her height amid the dense foliage.
If the plural is intended here, the reference is to the princes of the royal house; if the singular, Jehoiachin.
Eze 19:12 But she was plucked up in fury, She was cast down to the ground, And the east wind dried her fruit. Her strong branches were broken and withered; The fire consumed them.
12. Plucked up. This refers to the captivity and deportation of Jehoiachin and a part of the people (2 Kings 24:10–16).
Eze 19:13 And now she is planted in the wilderness, In a dry and thirsty land.
13. Dry and thirsty ground. This represents Babylon. The figure is that of a vine being removed from a rich soil and transplanted into dry and barren ground.
Eze 19:14 And fire is gone out of a rod of her branches, which hath devoured her fruit, so that she hath no strong rod to be a sceptre to rule. This is a lamentation, and shall be for a lamentation.
14. Fire is gone out of a rod. Zedekiah’s revolt from Nebuchadnezzar caused that monarch to march his army into Judea, take Jerusalem, and carry the Jews captive to Babylon (2 Kings 25:1–17; see on Eze. 17:11–21). Thus an end was put to the vine and its branches.
This is a lamentation. The desolation was only partially accomplished now. Complete destruction would be cause for further lamentation.